A former director of a Brooklyn daycare center on Wednesday pleaded not guilty to federal charges of wire fraud and money laundering in connection with the embezzlement of more than $2.75 million in childcare tuition.
Murielle Misczak, 43, was a former director of Kinderhaus, a German-immersion school based in Park Slope. Over the course of approximately four years, Misczak embezzled more than $2.75 million by directing parents to send tuition payments to unapproved accounts she controlled and transferring the funds to her personal bank accounts, according to Joseph Nocella, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York.
Misczak was hired by the daycare in 2013 as program coordinator and was later promoted to director in 2020. Starting in January 2022 and continuing through October 2025, Misczak stole more than $2.75 million in tuition payments by directing them to be paid into accounts she controlled and then transferring those payments into her own accounts, according to prosecutors.
Misczak hid her theft from the daycare by deleting and altering information in the daycare’s accounting systems. Misczak spent over $600,000 in stolen funds on travel and entertainment, including over $350,000 on tickets to professional wrestling events, as well as hundreds of thousands of dollars on luxury goods and various personal expenses such as food delivery and ride sharing services, Nocella said.
“As alleged, Misczak abused her position of authority and betrayed the trust of her employer and daycare families by stealing millions in tuition to fund her own extravagant personal lifestyle,” Nocella said in a statement. “Our office will vigorously prosecute corrupt individuals like the defendant who seek to enrich themselves at the expense of services for children.”
